The Royal Academy of Arts has been doing something a little different recently – their latest exhibition, Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined, has allowed architects to take over some of their galleries with innovative designs. It marks a departure from their usual kind of show, as you are able to walk around, touch and in some cases walk through the exhibits, and there were lots of children who were clearly enjoying themselves just as much as the adults.
Featuring architects from all over the globe, the exhibition is designed to show that architecture is not just a visual medium: it affects how you perceive a space in terms of scent, touch, hearing and feeling.
On entering the exhibition space you are able to go any way you like. I chose to go straight ahead and came across this installation by Eduardo Souto de Moura, a reconstruction of the wall’s archway.
The next work was pretty hard to miss, and I think it was my favourite out of the lot. Diébédo Francis Kéré has created a huge plastic tunnel that visitors can add to by using the coloured straws dotted about. Children in particular were having a lot of fun with this, but I couldn’t resist adding my own as I walked through the tunnel.
The bright colours were really uplifting.
Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s piece dominated one of the larger rooms, consisting of four spiral staircases encased in cylinders and topped with a platform (there was also a ramp for wheelchair users). I very much enjoyed climbing about in this.
One of the best parts was being able to get a closer look at the roof of the Royal Academy owing to the platform at the top of the structure.
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma appeared to have gone to the other extreme, pioneering what he calls ‘weak architecture’ which emphasises the fragility and beauty of his structures. These are shaped canes of bamboo which give off a lovely natural smell; the whole atmosphere of the space was calming and gentle.
Li Xiaodong’s work is a maze-like room made up of twig screens, with a pebble-covered space in the centre over which your feet crunch pleasantly.
Lastly. Grafton Architects have created two rooms, one light, one dark, which architect Yvonne Farrell says is meant to be like going from hot to cold in a sauna. It sounds boring but I was impressed with how the clever arrangement of these supposedly plain concrete slabs helped to alter the atmosphere and feel of the two rooms.
The exhibition ended with a video featuring the architects talking about their work and how they view the role of architecture. I normally don’t bother with videos in exhibitions but I was fascinated by this one. I really knew very little about architecture and I enjoyed the way the exhibition helped me to think differently about it.